Best holiday gifts for your traveler in 2023
Cheers to the holidays! It’s that time of year when you painstakingly search for the perfect gift for the traveler in your life. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve created a list of my 20 favorite travel items that have helped me travel all over the world. And these travel gifts are sure to bring joy to the traveler in your life. Here is my list of the 20 best travel gifts:
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission off of the items listed. However, I only promote items I use and believe in.
Don’t forget to earn more travel when buying gifts!
When you purchase your best travel gifts online be sure to go through a shopping portal to earn more travel. If you’re unsure of what portal to use, CashBackMonitor is a great resource to find the highest earning rates.
You should also be shopping for items with a travel card that earns more than 1x on your holiday purchases. One card that’s perfect for non-bonus category spending is the Capital One Venture X. This card is a $5 moneymaker before doing anything and with 2x earnings on non-bonus spend, it could be a great option for gifts.
Best Travel Gifts
Cotopaxi Allpa Travel Backpack
My must-have, absolute favorite travel item is the Cotopaxi Allpa travel backpack. The bag is great for anyone who is already a backpack traveler or is interested in trying it. With a unique storage design that makes it easy to find your items, as well as a supportive feel when wearing it, the Cotopaxi Allpa is the best travel backpack on the market.
Subscription to Scott’s Cheap Flights
Scott’s works by sending you flight deals via email from the airports you’ve listed. This service has taken me all around the world for a fraction of the cost. Most recently, I’m headed to Barcelona, Spain from Kansas City for $300 per person roundtrip. You can purchase year-long memberships with a gift card at the bottom of their main page.
The Wander Club Keychain
Know someone with a scratch-off map who loves to collect travel locations? The Wander Club allows them to take those tokens of achievement wherever their adventures take them. Collect tokens on a variety of travel-related themes like countries, US National Parks, or even customize your own.
Eddie Bauer Packable Daypack
A lightweight, compatible daypack is the perfect addition to anyone’s travel gear. Eddie Bauer’s daypack is a great price point and will last forever (I know, I’ve had mine for 8 years and taken it to 20+ different countries!). It folds into itself and zips up for easy storage.
Thrifty Traveler Subscription
Like Scott’s Cheap Flights, Thrifty Traveler alerts users to cheap cash flights from their selected airports. What’s great about Thrifty is that they also include award fares in their alerts, too. I like to use Scott’s and Thrifty together to make the ultimate cheap flight package.
Use my referral code KENDYL10 for 10% off your first year!
Electronic Organizer
This is one of my favorite products to bring on trips. It’s so nice to know all your cords are clearly organized while traveling. The organizer is pretty compact and fits things like your computer charger, wall chargers, camera batteries, SD cards, and other essentials for any trip.
Personalized Travel Journal
Image by the LifeLessOrdinaryCo via Etsy – check out their travel journals!
Etsy has some great products and includes a long list of personalized journals perfect for any adventure. Journals often can be customized with an individual’s name or even the destination written about in the journal.
Gravel Travel Blanket
If I have any additional room in my backpack I love to bring the Gravel blanket. It’s super compact and lightweight. But the real winner is how incredibly warm it is in those economy seats with silly little fleece blankets.
Travel Gift Cards
No surprise but people who love to travel value experiences. Travel gift cards, like Airbnb, Delta, or Southwest, are easy to find and a great way to show someone you know what they like to invest in.
Stack your gift card purchase with GiftCards.com and a shopping portal for some easy points and miles!
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones
Certainly an investment, Bose QuietComfort headphones are a game-changer on long plane rides. If you’re anything like me the humming of long-haul flights can get annoying but with these headphones, you are in almost complete silence.
Portable Charger
Real travelers need real chargers – not just the small ones you get in a promo bag. The Anker Portable Charger can charge an iPhone from dead to full battery more than 2 times on one charge! It’s perfect to add to a daypack, is easy to store, and comes in handy many times when traveling. I’ve used the same Anker charger for the past 5 years and it still charges like it did the day I got it!
1000 Places to See Before You Die
(Support your local bookstore… or mine!) Inspire your traveler to see more of the world with the updated 1000 Places to See Before You Die. The book is a great way to explore destinations that might be of interest but also get more information on travel plans as they come up.
Kavu Rope Bag
An excellent addition to any traveler’s wardrobe is a Kavu Rope Bag. These bags are stylish and have multiple compartments to hold all your stuff. They are great on the go but don’t have a place to put your water bottle or other large items very easily. So, consider the bag the perfect travel purse. You can wear it on your back, slung on your shoulder, or in front depending on your needs.
LifeStraw Water Bottle
Traveling where the water is unsafe or questionable to drink can make travel more difficult. LifeStraw helps travelers utilize available water instead of purchasing continuous plastic bottles. LifeStraw filters out 99.9% of bacteria, parasites, and microplastics. The product really is incredible and easy to use.
Allbirds Shoes
A great shoe choice for the frequent traveler in your life, Allbirds are sustainably-made merino wool shoes. Their design makes sure your shoes don’t stink (you don’t even have to wear socks!) and they are super comfortable and stylish, too.
Getaway Cabin
Have you wanted to escape to the woods for a relaxing… getaway? These cabins are the place to do it. With locations across the US, Getaway is an affordable way to try out tiny home living in the woods for a relaxing escape from city life.
Get $25 off your first stay with my Refer-a-Friend link!
Everlane Travel Backpack
This is by far my favorite travel backpack I’ve tried. It’s largely because it easily fits two laptops with space for all your other important gear, like headphones, chargers and even a change of clothes simply. It’s also really easy to clean with its canvas fabric – great for travelers.
Away Carry-On
I’m a big fan of the small and simple Away Carry-On suitcase for even the longest trips. It’s stylish, it compresses so well, and the zippers are some of the best I’ve ever used. And did I mention the lifetime warranty?
Get $20 off your order with my Refer-a-Friend link!
Passport Stamps of the World Scratch Off Poster
An alternative to the world map this poster is classy and unique. If your traveler loves looking at their passport stamps this is the poster for them to commemorate those destinations.
LL Bean Lined Utility Jacket
LL Bean sells a lined and unlined version of this jacket. What I love about it is how lightweight and easy it is to wear. It’s perfect to a plane ride and days in the 50s and 60s. Personally, I have the fleece lined version and love it. It’s a must for any destination a little cooler.
Explore on. -K
